Ever since I saw this in the NY Times Dinning and Wine Section, I’ve been thinking about how much I wanted to try some of this rice with dried flowers from France. For three months visions of flower-scented rice danced in my head, and then just last week I made the trek from Park Slope to the Upper West Side to the Fairway to find this rice I had been dreaming of. I was faced with five different flowers to choose from: lavender, roses, poppies, violets, or jasmine. At $6.99 or $8.99 a box, I only let myself choose one, and that was the red rice with jasmine. This one little box of rice flew with me to VT, then rode in a bus with me to NH, then was finally cooked today in my mother’s kitchen.

Dense, chewy, sweet, and floral, it was the perfect accompaniment for a spring vegetable stir fry flavored with Thai spices and coconut milk. And the leftover rice made an exciting rice pudding when flavored with Grand Marnier, allspice, and ginger. Served with fresh juicy strawberries, mint, and a dollop of vanilla ice cream it was the perfect early summer dessert.